It's Only Soap!
by Abarero
Summary: (ONESHOT) Who knew one little scent could cause such a problem? [Dee x Ryo - post volume 4]


Author's Notes: Written for a prompt on livejournal community fake(underscore)haven. The theme was "soap"

This was my first time writing Dee and Ryo, so here goes:

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**It's Only Soap!**

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If there was one thing Ryo took pride in, it was that his house was always clean. Pillows would be neatly placed on the couch or bed, never once astray from their places. Dust was a foreign word and substance that was never seen more than a few seconds before being erased from the premises. But most of all, unlike most men his age, Ryo's clothing never once touched the floor. They went from his dresser directly onto his personage then directly into the hamper in the bathroom. That's just the way it was. 

At least, the way it was until Dee came into his life.

Dee, seemed to be, like a human tornado; a debris-littered trail following him wherever he went. At work, it would be empty coffee cups and donut-stained napkins strewn about his desk. And at his home, things were always amiss.

So it was, to no surprise, that during these times when Dee would invite himself over- Ryo found himself using up almost all his cleaning products. The dish-soap, the detergent, the various cleaners and cleansers for stains, soap-scum, and scuffs. It was as if he was possessed into erasing every tiny bit of evidence that Dee had come over- and it was that very reason that perplexed him now.

His partner had come and gone and Bikky was visiting Carol. It was a perfect time to clean up the mess that remained in their more masculine wakes. But, as Ryo soon discovered, he was out of soap.

He could clean with the other cleaners, cleansers, and disinfectants, but as for his own body- it was to be left with nothing but pure water to rinse away any remains of Dee's amorous affection towards him.

True, Ryo noted, it wasn't like there _was_ anything that needed to be washed off. He was by all appearances perfectly clean after his shower. But it was the lack of soap that left Dee's scent lingering on his body. It clung to him, almost like Dee himself, and embraced every centimeter of skin Dee had been allowed to touch.

Ryo found himself deeply troubled by this, much like all Dee's affections up until now had left him. He knew if he admitted he didn't mind the scent, he'd be admitting much more than just that casual passing nuance. In admitting anything about Dee's presence, there was a fine-print message tacked on reading aloud to Ryo's conscious mind that he might have feelings for the other man- romantic feelings. And it was due to that suppressing of feelings that he desperately sought to remove this undesired scent from his body.

He'd tried everything- the dish-soap, the detergent, the various cleaners and cleansers for stains, soap-scum, and scuffs. He'd tried colognes and potpourri and other strong-smelling things that he found about the house.

But no matter what he tried, the lack of soap still left him with one reminder that Dee had been there.

Looking at the late-hour, Ryo debated if there was a local store open at this time of night. But, with the early shift the next morning, going out this late was just asking for excessive coffee the next day.

As he laid tangled in the sheets, the scent of Dee seemed to permeate his night clothes and seep unto his bed until he was surrounded by it. Even the places where he'd tidied up Dee's mess from before seemed to have a ghostly trail of the man's presence still lingering around.

Focusing on a single spot on the ceiling with all his might, he attempted to distract himself from his current dilemma. Just as sleep was about to claim his exhausted body, a loud knock was heard at the front door.

Groggily, Ryo managed to find his way to the door and open it, not too pleased to see who was on the other side.

"Hey, I just remembered you saying Bikky would be gone tonight so…?"

Dee's usual antics were no different at 1am in the morning than they were at any other time of day, Ryo noted. Frowning, he began to shut the door.

"Wait a second, what's your problem? I haven't even done anything yet!"

Not thinking about the possible implications Dee would take from it, Ryo sighed and explained his situation.

"I can't sleep because of you. The last thing I need is your actual presence here."

Blinking in shock, and trying to figure out if it was merely a dead-pan joke, Dee daringly took a step forward. On seeing that Ryo hadn't slammed the door yet, he went ahead and pushed his way in.

"So, I'm keeping you _up_, eh? Is there anything I can do about it?"

Ryo smiled slightly, then he placed a gentle hand on Dee's shoulder.

"Why, actually there is. Since you're so awake and I can't sleep because of it, can I ask you a…strange favor?"

Dee's lecherous grin spread, his heart began to race as he envisioned all the things that he'd do with Ryo that very night. Giving a good natured smile in return, and trying to hold back from pouncing and stripping his partner right then and there, the dark-haired man gave his casual reply.

"Anything you want, Ryo. Just name it and good ole' Dee will take care of your little problem."

"I'll be right back," The hazel-haired man replied as he rushed towards his bathroom.

Taking a deep breath, Dee pinched himself to assure that he wasn't dreaming or sleepwalking. There was no way that this current situation could be happening.

_Ryo, unable to sleep due to perverse thoughts about me racing through his head, is now in his bathroom getting ready for the night ahead of us,_ Dee swooned at the thought.

Returning with a white wrapper in his hand and a small plastic bottle, Ryo handed both over to Dee. Snapped out of his dreamy state, the dark-haired man looked down the items.

"What in the…"

"I'm out of soap, both the bar-soap and the liquid soap. Could you please run out to the store and buy me some? Those are the brands I like best, so try and get them, but if you can't- don't get anything cheap or damaged looking. Dee? Did you hear me?"

Staring off as if he'd been struck by a lightening bolt of reality, Dee mumbled a reply.

"Soap. Gotcha. He wants…soap."

And as Dee walked out the door with a dazed expression on his face, Ryo wondered what he'd said wrong.

_Is it really that strange to ask your friend to run an errand for you? I mean- it's only soap!_


End file.
